Improvement in stays for seams of boots and shoes



l A. SEAVBR. Stay for Beams of Boots and Shoes.

No.198,220. Patented Dec. 18, 1877.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

AUGUSTUS SEAVER, OF MILFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF HIS RIGHT TO CHARLES D. WOOD, OF LINCOLN, RHODE ISLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN STAYS FOR SEAMS OF BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 198,220, dated December 18, 1877 application filed December 4, 1877.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, AUGUSTUS SEAVER, of Milford, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Stays for Boots and Shoes, of which the following is a specification:

My invention relates to stays or covering and strengthening strips, which are sewed over the front and back seams in boots and shoes.

Heretofore these stays have been made invariably of leather, so far as I am aware, and it is well known that such stays are comparatively stiff and inflexible, in consequence of the material of which they are made, and have a colored surface which is different from the natural color of the material. Hence the wear to which leather stays are subjected causes them to deteriorate more or less rapidly, the stays becoming broken or cracked more or less, and detached from the boot or shoe at the points where they are subjected to the greatest wear, and also caused to present a rusty appearance on their outer surfaces by the wearing 0E of the color applied thereto.

My invention has for its object to provide a stayv which shall obviate the above-named objections, and possess other advantages over those made of leather; and to this end it consists in a stay composed of sheet-rubber, with a backing of cloth, as I will now proceed to describe.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specication, Figure l represents a view of one of my improved stays applied to a boot or shoe. Fig. 2 represents an enlarged sectional view of the same.

On said drawings, A represents my improved stay, which is made in any suitable manner, of sheet-rubber.

I prefer to employ rubber, which is applied to abackin g of cloth, the material thus formed being similar to that employed for making rubber coats, Sto., although, if desired, the stays may be made entirely of rubber. The

edges of the strip of material composing the stay are preferably folded under, as shown in Fig. 2, and the folded portions are preferably cemented to the under side of the strip, the same being` then ready for use.

If desired, the completed stay may be made of a single thickness, the edges being nished in any desired manner during the process 0f manufacture.

My improved stay possesses the following advantages, viz:

First, the material is iieXible, and therefore will not break or crack under fleXure or wear so readily as leather, the iiexibility of the stay enabling it to be used to advantage on a serge or cloth boot, which is too flexible to be supplied with a leather stay, as will be readily seen.

Secondly, the material is of uniform color throughout, and therefore will not be caused, by wear, to present a rusty surface. I propose, when the rubber is applied to a cloth backing, to use for the latter cloth of the same color as the rubber, so that in case the rubber is cracked or worn no change of color will take place.

Thirdly, the material is elastic, and, conse quently, will expand after being stitched to the boot or shoe, so that the stitches will be recessed or sunken below the surface of the stay, and thus protected from wear in like manner that the stitches are protected by the groove or channel sometimes formed in leather stays for this purpose.

Fourthly, the material is water-proof, and this quality, in connection with its elasticity, which causes the stay to press closely against the surface of the boot or shoe,) insures the perfect protection of the covered seam from water.

Fifthly, the material is very cheap and durable.

I claimy 1. As an article of manufacture, a stay for the seams of boots and shoes, composed of rubber having a backing of cloth, substantially as described.

2. A boot or shoe having a seam-covering stay, composed of rubber, attached thereto by stitching, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

AUGUSTUS SEAVER.

Witnesses:

CHARLEs D. Woon, C. F. BROWN. 

